(new: Information on investigations)
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) – After the publication of explosive US information about the war in Ukraine, the US government is trying to clarify and try to calm its allies. “We will turn every stone until we find out the origin and extent of the incident,” US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in Washington on Tuesday. Both he and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said they had spoken to their Ukrainian counterparts.
Austin said he learned of the data breach last Thursday. “I was first briefed on the reports of the unauthorized disclosure of sensitive and classified material on the morning of April 6.” Since then, he has consulted with senior staff at his ministry on a daily basis and taken immediate action. “We have referred the matter to the Justice Department, which has opened a criminal investigation.” As long as the investigations were ongoing, he could not comment further. But he emphasized: “We take the matter very, very seriously.”